


Enemy of My Enemy

by AmazonDjinn



Series: Rebuilding a Dynasty [1]
Category: Luke Cage (TV)
Genre: But not too far from actual events, F/M, non-canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-28 21:17:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8463259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmazonDjinn/pseuds/AmazonDjinn
Summary: Mariah Dillard has spent much of her career clawing her way up the political ladder, and she'll be damned if she lets Diamondback dictate the terms of their agreement. Thankfully, she's not in this alone.





	

Mariah was walking down the stairs, putting her earrings on as the front door opened. "Alex," she called as she made it to the bottom, "you're late and that is unacceptable." She turned the corner abruptly in the foyer, not bothering to open the interior door.  
  
"I sent your house boy away," came a voice from behind her. She spun on her heels to see Diamondback walking into her Brownstone instead of Alex.  
  
"What are you doing here?" was all she could manage.  
  
"Come to check on my asset," he drawled as he began walking through the sitting room like he'd been there before.  
  
She walked toward the couch, anger rising with each step. "I don't have time for this right now; I have to get to a council meeting. And you better not have hurt..."  
  
Before she could finish her sentence, Diamondback was towering over her. "Listen, you uppity bitch, you don't get to make demands of me. I don't give two shits about your meeting," he bellowed as he backed her against the stair wall. "You work for me, which means every move you make needs to be in my best interest."  
  
"I don't work for you," she said, defiantly. "We're partners. And without this uppity bitch going to council meetings, who else would you have to peddle your wares?"  
  
He smiled at her retort, but there was only malice behind those pearly whites. He leaned in close and lowered his voice, "I'd watch that pretty mouth if I were you. So far this partnership is awfully one sided and I'd hate to have to replace you with someone more..." he paused to trace her jawline with a finger. When she jerked her head away from his touch, he grabbed her by the jaw before finishing his sentence, "...amenable."  
  
"Get your hand off me," she managed through clenched teeth.  
  
"Oohhh, I like your spunk, Mariah, but you have surrounded yourself with weak men who do what they're told. I don't play by those rules," He turned her head, leaned into her neck, then slowly and deliberately inhaled her perfume. "Unlike them," he released her and backed away so he could look her in the eye, "if I don't get what I want, I take it."  
  
She was no fool and knew the difference between a threat and a promise. She also recognized that look and the sensation caused her stomach to turn. The thought of being this close to a man she abhorred reminded her too much of all those times with Uncle Pete.  
  
"By the way, your lap dog, Shades," he watched her face for a reaction. Her head shot up to meet his gaze and the mention of Shades. It was an almost involuntary motion, and she cursed herself for it. Diamondback caught the tell and smiled as he delivered the news. "He's dead. It appears his loyalty shifted, and jumping ship is not something I can abide."  
  
Mariah tried to stay stone-faced, but her facade had cracked. "I never much cared for Shades," she said evenly.  
  
He laughed loudly and callously at that. "Nothing turns a man faster than pussy," he said, still chuckling.  
  
There were a million things she could say in reply, but decided it best not to throw fuel on the fire. When it became apparent she had nothing to say, the megalomaniac went on.  
  
"Be sure the city buys my guns, Mariah," he sing-songed as he made his way to the front door. "You're running out of time and allies, and I'd hate to see anything happen to you." And with that, he was gone without so much as a look back.  
  
After the exterior door shut behind him, Mariah clenched and unclenched her fists several times before letting out a guttural scream. She began pacing through the hallway trying to gather her thoughts, but it wasn't working.  
  
After a few minutes, when her heart rate finally dropped and her breathing normalized, she heard footsteps just as she was about to head upstairs. She stopped and craned her neck to find Shades staring back at her from the living room.  
  
There was a tightness in her chest that felt like fear and anger wrapped in immeasurable relief. Too relieved, in fact, to keep up appearances as she slowly made her way to him. Eyes wide with shock, she reached out with both hands and gathered a fistful of his coat and pulled him toward her. "He told me you were dead!" she growled.  
  
"He was misinformed," Shades replied coolly, straightening himself up. It was then that she caught the fresh purple bruising visible at the collar of his shirt. She gently brushed her fingers across the discoloration, but he jerked away from her grasp with a hiss. As she pulled away, he grabbed her hand with his gloved one and brought it back to his chest.  
  
They stood, silently, like that for almost a minute. Mariah could feel the slow and steady beat of Shade's heart as the realization of what needed to be done settled between them. "Hey," he said, his voice gently pulling her eyes away from his neck and to his face. "I'm fine. It's going to take more than a few second rate trigger men to take me out."  
  
"We have got to get rid of that son of a bitch," she replied with a renewed sense of purpose. "I can't have him in my house again..."

"He was here?" Shades asked, immediately on the defensive. "Did he hurt you?" he asked, as he placed the duffel bag she just now noticed in his other hand on the floor so that he could place a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

These touches were becoming more and more frequent, she'd noticed. Ever since that night with Cornell in the club, she couldn't tell if Shades had an agenda to get rid of what he thought was a hysterical woman, or if he actually gave a damn about her well-being. Whatever this was between them, there was always a sense of comfort when he was around. She could hear Mama Mabel's voice in her head, calling her all sorts of names, but for lack of a better word, she trusted Shades. All future plans aside, she needed to get out from under Diamondback right now. She would figure out the Shades situation another time.

"No, but he made it very clear that he was cutting off all my exit routes, and I do not want to give him the opportunity to make good on some of his promises." Diamondback wanted more of her than she was willing to give, and while she hadn't always liked Shades, she had grown to enjoy his presence. She'd spent her entire career barreling through gender tropes and had no plans to roll over and let Diamondback have his way just because he was powerful.   
  
"What are you thinking?" he asked.  
  
"We give him what he wants," she said with a shrug, "Luke Cage."  
  
Shades smiled and bent down to reach into the duffel. When he stood up again, he had a brown accordion folder at his side. "What do you want from this?" he asked, before he made a move to hand it over.  
  
"The same thing I've always wanted," she said without hesitation, "Harlem." She crossed her arms and gave him the once over before posing the same question. "And what is you want, Mr. Alvarez?"  
  
"I want you," he paused to hand her the folder, "to win."

**Author's Note:**

> A re-imagining of the encounter between Diamondback and Mariah in her Brownstone.


End file.
